AI helped scientists understand who wrote the Old Testament of the Bible

Using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, scientists have discovered that the Old Testament - the first part of the sacred text of the Christian Bible - may have been formed by three different authors.

As reported by BAKU.WS with reference to Gazeta.ru, the results have called into question the classical version according to which the first five books were written by Moses. This was shown by a study published in the journal PLOS One.

Scientists conducted linguistic attribution - analysis of sentence structure, word frequency, and syntactic constructions - and identified at least three distinctly different literary styles. This suggests that the Old Testament was created collectively, in different historical epochs. As the AI model analysis showed, the authors had different writing styles that partially overlapped, which is especially noticeable against the background of recurring plots, contradictions in descriptions, and changes in the tone of the narrative.

Although the theory of multiple authorship has existed since the 18th century, previously it was based only on philological and historical-cultural data. Modern technologies have allowed for the first time to conduct a quantitative, objective analysis, strengthening the arguments in favor of collective work on biblical texts. It is noted that stylistic differences were found even within the same book, indicating numerous editorial changes made in different eras.

According to historians, the Old Testament was formed over a millennium - approximately from 1400 to the 4th century BCE. During this time, the texts were not only recorded but also repeatedly edited, rewritten, and adapted to changing historical conditions - from the nomadic lifestyle of the ancient Israelites to the Babylonian captivity and return from exile. The names of most authors and editors remain unknown, and the texts themselves became the fruit of a collective intellectual tradition.

The results of the study open new perspectives for other ancient documents as well. According to scientists, similar AI methods can be applied, for example, to the Qumran manuscripts to determine their origin and authorship. This is especially relevant in cases where traditional approaches are insufficient to answer questions about the authenticity of ancient texts.